SET-UP

Private Deborah Cloud was flipping through the service report. "Sarge? According to this, the Captain got himself four shiny new kills."

"So?" Ryouga scowled; he saw no reason to bring up anything good about Ranma.

"So Wild Horse One needs a new skin job. And since this brings Saotome's kills to twenty-six...it's time for the special paint job."

"Oh." Ryouga nodded. It was standard operating procedure, whenever a pilot made Ace of Aces - twenty-five kills - for his fighter to be customized. The colours were chosen by the plane captain - the tech specifically assigned to the airplane, and responsible for all of its maintenance - and had to somehow match the pilot. That kid over in Skull, whatever his name was, with the blue hair and the tinted blue glasses. His fighter had gotten a blue and white paint job. "Well then, break out the paint."

"What colours, Sarge? I mean, you know the Captain better than anyone else here."

Ryouga pondered for a moment, then snickered. "Red and black."

* * * * *

"Hey, Ranma." Nabiki dropped into the seat opposite her prospective brother-in-law. "Can I take a minute of your time?"

"Sure." Ranma dropped his menu. "Just make it quick, okay? My time ain't cheap."

"Don't worry. I'll make it worth your while." Her smirk dropped away. "I understand you lost a pilot on your last sortie."

"Yeah." Ranma scowled; he'd come here just after writing The Letter to Sharon Miller, telling her that her baby boy wouldn't be coming home again. He'd have to see her in person eventually, but he wanted to put that off for the moment.

"I am sorry to hear it, Ranma. I knew Brad somewhat." Nabiki looked down at her hands. "He used to boast about how he flew under the best Flight Commander in the fleet."

Ranma snorted. "He meant Hendrikksen."

"Of course he did." Nabiki looked up. "Have you put in for a replacement for him yet?"

"Not yet."

"Good. I want you to request Akane."

Ranma shook his head. "I can't do that, Nabiki. My superiors - meaning Hayes - would call conflict of interest. And rightfully so."

"Do it, please." She leaned closer. "I know you won't get her, but I can guaruntee you any other pilot from Blue that you want."

"...Really?" He grinned.

"Really." She glanced up, to see Kuh Lon and another Amazon approaching. "Uh, oh. Here comes trouble."

Kuh Lon chuckled. "Not this time, Nabiki. At least not for you." She turned to Ranma. "Well, Son-in-Law."

Ranma glanced over at the younger of the two Amazons. "Oh, man. It's that crazy chick from the restaurant!"

Indeed, it was Miriya. Now dressed in loose black trousers, tied at ankles and waist, and a dark green silk tunic over a white blouse, she looked every inch the Amazon warrior. She scowled down at Ranma, then turned to the elder Amazon.

"Sister, is this the best you can do? I have faced him in battle, and he is a coward."

Kuh Lon shook her head. "I think you misjudge him, little one. He is both fierce and cunning." She turned back to Ranma. "I wish to ask you a favour, Son-in-Law."

"I ain't marryin' no Amazons. Not Shampoo, and especially not this crazy girl. She tried to stab me."

"Relax, boy. Do you not recall that I chose not to press that issue? And did I not warn you there would be a price? Well, here is part of it now. Miriya, here, comes from a tribe distant from mine, and quite distant from Japan or the United States. As such, she has had difficulty fitting in with the people of the ship."

"How do you Amazons keep getting on board?"

Kuh Lon cackled. "Well, this one came on board while the ship was landed in the Pacific. She was looking for me, to give me a message. But none the less. I would ask you to take her under your wing, and teach her how to work with the people of this ship."

Ranma considered. "Well, I--"

"Hold on, Ranma." Nabiki raised her hand. "You're getting a bit of a raw deal here." She turned to the elder Amazon. "Why not sweeten the deal a bit?"

Kuh Lon narrowed her eyes. "Ranma owes me a lot--"

"And don't you want to keep it that way?" She cocked her head. "You Amazons have your own martial art, right? Why not teach Ranma here some of it?"

"Our ways are not for outsiders."

Ranma looked interested. "Actually, I like this idea. I'll teach your kid, here, or whatever she is, about life in Macross. You teach me an Amazon martial art."

Kuh Lon pondered, then raised one finger. "One maneuver."

Ranma offered his hand. "Deal."

* * * * *

Akane was not in a good mood.

Since the death of Captain Mototada some time ago, her squadron had been left in limbo. For the past two weeks, she'd been serving as temporary commanding officer, but it was a simple fact that she didn't have the experience required to lead Blue. Oh, she'd been doing it, even on one combat sortie, but the brass were not happy with the situation. Only a lack of good commanders kept her in the temporary position.

Pity. She was enjoying command.

Ranma had barely spoken to her in the last two months, ever since the breakup of the Angel Squadron. She knew that he'd been very busy organizing his new command, but he could at least have called!

And now, as she entered the Nekohanten - amazing how much nicer it was there without that Chinese bimbo - she was shocked speechless to see Ranma sitting down there with another woman! Worse yet, another Chinese bimbo!

"Ranma!"

Ranma jumped, and threw up his hands in self-defense. "It's not what you think!"

"Oh, really?" Akane cracked her knuckles. "Would you care to explain?"

"It's all Nabiki's fault! And the Ghoul's! They--"

"Trying to blame this on Cologne won't work, Ranma." She paused. "Though blaming it on Nabiki might."

"Cologne wanted me to teach her cousin here, or whatever she is, to fit into Japanese culture. She said that I owe her, since she stopped chasing Shampoo's claim. Nabiki worked it out so I'd learn a martial arts technique, too."

Akane considered this, then nodded. "All right, I'll let you live. Though I really should pound you just on general principle."

Ranma sputtered, "What?"

"You must have done something perverted recently that I haven't caught." She turned and bowed to the Amazon. "Tendo Akane. I'm pleased to meet you."

"I am Miriya Parino." The Amazon's accent was passable, but her bow was quite different, with one fist pressed against her chest. She straightened, and jerked her chin towards Ranma. "You are his mate?"

"Ummm--" Akane bit her lip.

Ranma muttered, "It wasn't our idea. Our dads decided for us."

"Ah." The Amazon sat back down. "I am unfamiliar with this term, 'dad'"

"Father." At Miriya's blank look, Akane offered the word in English, then continued, "A male parent." Still nothing. Akane sighed. "This is gonna be some job, Ranma."

"Want to help?"

Akane tilted her head. "How so?"

"Miriya expressed an interest in...how did you put it? 'Local male/female pairing and courtship rituals'?"

Akane giggled. "It's a lot more complex than the Amazon way of waiting for them to hit you with a club."

"So I was thinking that we could get something to eat, then go see a movie."

Akane's eyes widened. "Ranma, are you asking me to go on a date with you?"

Ranma opened his mouth to object, but paused to think. (There's a first time for everything.) He was technically engaged to Akane, though they had put off the marriage until the end of the war, but they'd had very little interaction outside of the military. Why not a date? After all, they had to learn to get along somehow.

"All right. A date. Better still, since Miriya wants as much first-hand experience as she can get, a double date."

"And who were you considering for Miriya's date?"

"How about..." Ranma snapped his mouth shut, and dropped his head into his hands.

"Didn't think that far ahead, eh?"

Miriya cleared her throat. "If I understand the purpose of this 'date', it is to allow two potential mates to learn more about each other?"

Akane nodded. "Somewhat clinical, but basically true. The two should know each other somewhat, but a blind date is okay if you're double dating."

Miriya frowned. "I would not care for a mate who has lost his sense of vision. But if I may make a suggestion...as an Amazon, I would wish for a mate who is a great warrior. Who is the greatest male warrior you know?"

"Hey, there's an idea!" Ranma grinned. "We know plenty of great fighters!"

"Like whom?"

"Well, there's Rick Hunter. He's a really great pilot."

Akane wrinkled her nose. "He's also a chauvanistic pig. I wouldn't wish him on Minmei."

"How about Max Sterling? Rick's XO? He was with me and Rick in that brawl at the Dragon. He cleaned house. Or there's Lin Kyle. I don't like him much, but he studies Anything Goes."

"Really?"

"Really. Seems his father trained with our fathers. And there's Ryouga."

She considered the options. "Ryouga might work, but I'd be worried about him attacking you in the middle of dinner. As for Kyle, I don't think he'd want to double-date with a couple of soldiers. Plus, he's somewhat older than most of us." She frowned, and turned to Miriya. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Sixteen."

"Really? Well, you look very mature for your age. Max is eighteen, Ryouga's--how old, Ranma?"

"Twenty."

"And Kyle's twenty-two."

"How do you know that?" Ranma frowned.

"Minmei told me." She sighed, and turned back to Miriya. "Max looks like a little geek, but he's supposed to be a really good pilot. I've never flown with him, and neither has Ranma, but he has all kinds of medals. And he's kind of cute."

"I'm not sure what 'geek' means, but he sounds acceptable."

"Ranma, you wanna give him a call?"

Ranma already had his cellphone open. "Yo, Max, you busy? Think you can pop on over to the Nekohanten? We've got a blind date lined up for you." A pause, then, "Oh, hell. Well, it's a pity, Max. She's a real cutie. Okay, catch you later." He snapped his cell phone shut. "Max is in hack."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Got into a little 'disagreement' with one of the civilians, and loosened some of his teeth."

"Who?"

"Didn't say. Want me to call Kyle?"

"Might as well."

Ranma popped open the cellphone again and dialled. "Yo, Kyle? Saotome here. Yeah, the soldier boy. Look, if you're interested, I got a friend looking for a date here. Oh? Okay, fine. Talk to you later." He snapped the phone shut and sighed. "Kyle is currently very angry at the world, and at soldiers in particular, and feels that he would be less fun on a date than he could be, considering he just came out of dental surgery after having his teeth tightened."

Miriya snorted.

Ranma flipped open the phone once more and dialled. This time, he punched into the military channels.

"Private Cloud? Is my plane captain there? Put him on the horn." He glanced up and grimaced. "They're painting my jet...Yo, Ryouga? You gotta stay and supervise those kids while they paint, or can you get free? Okay, here's the deal: if ya promise not to attack me, I can get you a date. Dinner and a movie. No idea yet. Okay, grab a shower and dress casual. See you at Nekohanten in ten." He snapped the phone shut and waved his hand, as though he had just performed a magic trick.

"What sort of person is Ryouga?"

Ranma turned to the Amazon. "He's actually a pretty nice guy. He just has this unreasonable hatred of me. Blames me for all his problems. Strong as a bull, and quick as well."

"Am I going to have problems with unwanted personal contact?"

Ranma laughed. "Hell, no. Ryouga's as shy as they come. You might have a problem with wanted personal contact."

Miriya leaned back in her chair, arms folded across her chest, and scowled. "I don't think so."

Akane spoke up. "Miriya, you really should try to be friendly. Don't look at a date as a challenge - I know that your people often do."

Miriya grinned a bit. "Yes."

"Look at it as a chance to have some fun. Be friendly, try to have a good time, and please...try to smile."

"I can smile."

Ranma butted in. "Yeah, but whenever you smile, you look like a panther."

Akane swatted him, then turned back to Ranma. "He's not really very polite--"

"Hey!"

"--but he does have a point. Your smiles are a touch...predatory."

* * * * *

Ryouga hung up the bay phone with a surprised look on his face. Ranma, actually going out of his way to do something nice for him?

"What's the matter, Sarge?"

He turned back to Jackson, the Surfaces Specialist. "Murray, can you and these three handle the finish on Wild Horse One?"

"Yep." Jackson nodded. "Why? You got a hot date?"

"As a matter of fact...yes." Ryouga turned and headed for the bay showers, unzipping his coveralls. Jackson yelled out to him as he left.

"Ya gotta give us all the dirty details tomorrow, Sarge! If ya get lucky, we'll know anyway! You'll have a big goofy grin the size of Nebraska!"

* * * * *

He had agonized over several critical decisions. What to wear? He decided on a pair of jeans, T-shirt and sweater - Ranma had said casual. Cologne? He owned none, and decided against parting with any of his hard-earned paycheque for such a frivolous item. Flowers? He wasn't sure if it was appropriate for a first date, especially a blind date, and he decided against it. Movie? There were three playing, including one made right here on the ship; he had seen some of the filming for it, back when it was being made, and even had a role in it as an extra. But it had been thrown together rather hastily, and probably wasn't as good as the Earth-made stuff that was also showing. Plus, opening day had been two days ago, to much fanfare...she might have seen it...

Finally, thoroughly scrubbed, shaven and poured into his least damaged set of clothing, he managed to find his way to the Nekohanten five minutes late, having only made two wrong turns. He hesitated at the door, took a deep cleansing breath, and strode in.

To find himself face-to-face with an incredibly ancient woman. His eyes bugged out. "Oh, please tell me you're not my date."

The old woman chuckled. "With tact like that, I do feel sorry for the girl. No, boy, you just came in through the wrong door." She turned him to face the service doors. "Right through there, take a left at the cash register, and look for the green hair."

"Green?"

"You should have seen mine at her age, a lovely shade of purple...Go!" She shoved him through the door.

Akane glanced up at him, then down at her watch. "Only ten minutes late. Not bad, Ryouga."

Ranma muttered, "Told you I shoulda gone to get him."

"It's fine, Ranma, he's here. Hibiki Ryouga, meet Parino Miriya."

Ryouga glanced over...to see the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes upon. Sparkling emerald eyes framed by long lashes and pencil-thin eyebrows, long tresses of green hair, refined features and a warm, friendly smile...

"I'm very pleased to meet you." He managed to stutter only a little. Inwardly, he raised a prayer to the Gods.

*Thank you, Kami-sama, for bringing this angel into my life!*